Chapter 3
Governance of SKMC
The Dean
The Dean of Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University is the Chief Executive
Officer of the College. Subject to the supervision of the President, the Dean is responsible for the management and development of the administrative affairs and the academic programs of the College. The
Dean supervises the execution of the By-Laws, rules and regulations of the College, and all policies of
the Board of Trustees applicable to the College.
The Dean’s supervision of the conduct of the academic programs of the College extends to all areas of
Thomas Jefferson University. The Dean supervises the conduct of such programs in the other hospitals
and institutions with which the College has official academic affiliation. The Dean is the only representative of the College authorized to establish such affiliations on behalf of the University. The Dean is
responsible for maintaining proper relationships with accrediting agencies and with professional organizations and associations, which are related to medicine and medical education.
The Dean may make interim appointments to the faculty on recommendation of the department chairperson and may appoint a member of the Professorial Faculty to serve as Acting Dean in his/her absence. After consultation with the President, the Dean may appoint an acting chairperson of an academic
department, and engages other employees to serve the College under the Dean’s supervision.
The Dean reports annually to the President on the state of the College. Copies of the report are made
available to the Trustees and the General Faculty.
The Dean attends meetings of the Board of Trustees and reports all acts and decisions of the Professorial Faculty and the Executive Council.
The Dean is a Senior Officer and a member both of the President’s Council and of the Senior Officers’
Planning Committee. Through the President, the Dean recommends to the Board of Trustees such policies or actions as the Dean may deem desirable for the proper conduct and development of the College
and its programs. The Dean also assists in maintaining effective college relations with the alumni.
The Faculty
The Faculty is organized as a General Faculty, a Professorial Faculty, and an Executive Council. (Functions are described in the Bylaws of the College) The General Faculty consists of all persons who hold
academic appointments to the Faculty of the College. The Professorial Faculty includes the President
of the University, the Dean, Officers of the Medical College, and all members of the faculty who hold
academic rank of professor and associate professor. A traditional strength of the College in the past and
an essential component of its continuing success has been the contribution of its volunteer faculty. The
volunteer faculty work primarily in clinical departments, and make valued contributions to the clinical
instruction of medical students and residents at the University hospital and at affiliated hospitals. The
contributions of volunteer faculty to the education programs are evaluated, annually, in the same way
as for other faculty members.
Faculty Handbook 7
The Executive Council
The Executive Council consists of the Dean of the Medical College and the President, ex officio, the
chairs of the departments and two elected representatives from the Professorial Faculty, one from the
basic science departments and one from the clinical departments.
The Executive Council has primary academic authority and responsibility for the Bylaws and Rules of
the College, faculty affairs such as appointments, promotions and welfare, College related tenure issues
and all other academic matters not specifically delegated to the Professorial Faculty.
The Executive Council is delegated by the Professorial Faculty to act on its behalf as to any matter in
which the Professorial Faculty has academic authority and responsibility.
The Executive Council receives reports from the committees of the College and from the Professorial
Faculty and takes appropriate action. Committee chairpersons and appropriate associate and assistant
deans and other guests may be invited to present the reports of their respective committees to the
Executive Council.
The Executive Council may consider any other matters brought to its attention by the Officers of the
College or its own members.
The Executive Council establishes college policies and prescribes changes in policy in all matters not
specifically delegated to the Officers or to the Professorial Faculty.
The Executive Council reports to the Professorial Faculty by prompt distribution of its minutes, which
includes summaries of committee reports. If the Board of Trustees has not yet acted upon the matter,
action of the Executive Council on matters within the jurisdiction of the Professorial Faculty may be
considered and recalled at the next regular meeting of the Professorial Faculty or at a special meeting.
Departments and Divisions of SKMC
Each academic department has a chairperson, who is appointed by the Board of Trustees and is the
chief executive officer of the department. Each division of an academic department has a head, which
is the administrative officer of that division and is responsible to the department chairperson.
Department Chairs
Responsibilities are defined in the Bylaws. Each academic department has a chairperson appointed by
the Board of Trustees. The chair is the chief executive officer of that department, and as such is eligible
for membership on the Executive Council. Department chairs are subject to the supervision of the
Dean, and are responsible to the Dean for the management and development of the administrative affairs and academic programs of their departments. The chair’s authority as to the department includes
assignment of space, expenditure of funds, and appointment of academic and nonacademic personnel.
The Chair’s authority as to academic affairs extends to the conduct of educational and research programs and the promotion of the best interests of the faculty in the department.
Educational Affiliations
In order to provide its medical students and resident physicians with the requisite clinical training and
experience, the University has established affiliations with various hospitals in the surrounding area.
Pursuant to these affiliations, medical students and resident physicians serve clinical rotations in various
departments within the affiliated hospitals.
Standing Committees
The Standing Committees of the Medical College are a primary means by which faculty contribute to
the governance of the Medical College. In some areas (admissions and student promotions), faculty
have primary decision making authority. In other areas, faculty recommend actions to the Dean or
8 Sidney Kimmel Medical College
other governing body as appropriate. The Committee on Committees appoints members of the Standing Committees of the Medical College. The Standing Committees are: Academic Protocol, Admissions,
Affiliations, Alumni and Public Affairs, Bylaws and Rules, Professionalism, Continuing Medical Education, Curriculum, Departmental Review, Faculty Affairs, Faculty Appointments and Promotions, Judicial
Board, Nominating Committee, Research, Student Affairs, and Student Promotion. Requirements for
membership and responsibility of each Standing Committee are described in the Bylaws of the College.
Faculty interest in serving on the standing committees of the Medical College is solicited in January of
each calendar year by the Office of Faculty Affairs. The Committee on Committees considers requirements for membership, faculty interest, and recommendations from Department Chairs and Committee
Chairs when appointing committee members. The composition of the Committee on Committees is
described in the Bylaws of Sidney Kimmel Medical College.
Professorial Faculty Advisory Committee
The Professorial Faculty Advisory Committee (PFAC) consists of representatives of the professorial
faculty, elected by their peers, who serve in an advisory capacity to the Dean of the Medical College.
This committee provides for bidirectional communication between the faculty of the Medical College
and the Dean on matters of importance to the faculty.
TJU Faculty Senate
At the University level, the elected faculty body which serves in an advisory capacity to the Provost
and consists of faculty representatives from all of the schools including the Medical College is the Faculty Senate. The Senate focuses on issues that transcend a particular school and are of importance to the
larger University faculty community. The Medical College ensures continuity of faculty representation
between the PFAC and Senate by requiring that election to the PFAC is a prerequisite for serving on the
Senate.
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